Slide fastener



April 6, 1943. f L. w. SCHAAFF 2,316,133

' VSLIDE FASTENER y Filed Aug. '7, 1941l Patented Apr. 6, 1943 sLmErAs'rENER Louis W. Schauff, Jackson Heights, N. Y., assignor to WaldesKoh-I-Noor, Inc., VLong Island City, N. Y., a corporation of New York AApplication August 7, 1941', serial No. 405,853

i claims. (cl. 2li- 205) lThis invention relates to improvements inslide fasteners, particularly of the concealed type as employed with flyfront garments, and to an improved construction and arrangement of pullmens trousers, universally employ the conventional pull tab having agrip portion which is symmetrically disposed along' the longitudinalcenter line of the fastener slider. As is well known, slide fasteners ofthe stated character are concealed by a flap which extends in coveringrelation over the fastener, its slider and the pull tab. To operate theslider, it is of course necessary to raise the flap and thereupon insertthe fingers into the fly pocket formed by the fastener stringers and they for' the purpose of gripping the pull tab. Due to the symmetricaldisposition of the pull tab with reference to the slider as l aforesaid,and also by reason of the fact that the longitudinal center line of theslider is generally l disposed closer to the pocket base than to thefree edge of the fly, some difiiculty is experienced in obtaining aproper grip on the pull tab, and the slider is accordingly not easilyoperated.

To overcome the disadvantages asaforesaid, the present inventioncontemplates and provides a slider, particularly adapted for slidefasteners of the concealed type, provided with a pull tab i which, whileconcealed by the garment fly in Vconventional manner, is neverthelessmore easily and readily gripped than the pull tabs of sliders of knownconstruction and disposition. More particularly, the present inventionprovides a pull tab having a gripping end which is offset laterally fromthe longitudinal center line of the slider in the direction of the freeedge of the iiy. By this oiset the gripping end of the tab is morereadily accessible, and the operation of the slider does not requirefull insertion of the ngers into the ily pocket or full opening of thepocket as by bending the fly back approximately 90 from its normalplane. Moreover, a slider having an olfset pull tab in accordance withthe present invention may be operated by exerting a lateral component ofpull on the pull tab and in the direction away from the pocket base,which is of obvious advantage when the fastener is applied to fly frontgarments.

A further feature of the invention resides in `tab'and preventingslipping of the fingers therefrom, thereby making for easier and sureroperation of the slider.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part hereinafter pointedout in connection with the following analysis of this invention' whereinis illustrated an embodiment of detail.

In the drawing- Fig. l is a plan View of a. portion of a'. slide fas'-tener of the concealed type, the concealing fly being raised to exposethe slider, and the` latter being provided with the improved pull tab ofthe present invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section through a slide fastener of the concealedtype employing the improved slider and pull tab assemblyof the presentinvention, the concealing ly being shown in its concealing relation withreference to the slider and fastener;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the slider and its improved pull tab; 4

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. l;l

Fig. 5 is a detail View illustrating a modied form of securing the pulltab to the slider.

Referring to the drawing, wherein like reference characters designatelike parts throughout the several views, reference` characters l0, Hdesignate conventional fastener elements arranged'in row formation.along the edges of opposed stringers' I2, i3, of which Stringer AI2 issecured as by stitching I4 to the garment fabric along one side-of anopening therein, with Stringer this invention in I3 being secured as bystitching l5 to the garment fabric at the other side of the opening.From the stitching I5, the garment fabric extends for a length as tocover the stitching I 4 and thereby forms a fly I6 whichconceals thestringers, the fastener elements, as well as the slider generallydesignated S associated with the fastener elements. As shown, thegarment edge to which the Stringer l2 is stitched is extended to provideanunder flap Il which extends beneath the fastener to a point wellinside the stitching l5. As is Well known, the fastener elements I0, Ilare adapted to be interlocked and disengaged by the slider S whichembraces the elements and which operates.

On the other hand, such are to be regarded as typical of slide fastenersof the concealed type and of conventional fastener elements,respectively, both of which may take other forms than those illustrated.

The slider S is shown to have the general form and mode of operation ofthe slider disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 395,479,filed May 2'7, 1941, Patent No; 2,312,284 granted Feb. 23, 1942, insofaras its interlocking features and ability to dispose the rows ofdisengaged fastener elements parallel are concerned. However, it is tobe clearly undertsood that the present invention is not limited tosliders of the form disclosed in my prior application aforesaid but, onthe other hand, is also applicable to sliders of the so-called standarddesign which are provided with a Y-shaped race for the fastener elementsand which in operation dispose the disengaged fastener elements fanwiseupon their'exit from the slider.

Asillustrated, the slider body S is constituted by front and rear plates20, 2| having marginal side flanges 22, 23, and an elliptically shapedseparator or divider generally designated 2li, which functions also as aspacer for the plates 2d, 2i, being disposed well within the slider bodyand at or near the geometrical center thereof. The slider body isprovided with a top or head opening for the entry Aand exit ofdisengaged elements and with a bottom or tail opening for the entry orexit of the engaged fastener elements. In the illustrated slider, thefront and rear plates and` their side flanges in conjunction with themore or less centrally disposed divider Zi cooperate to provide. anopen-ended race for the fastener elements having upper and lowerstraightway race portions disposed in longitudinal alignment, andconnecting branch portions which diverge outwardly from one straightwayportion and thence inwardly into the other straightway portion.

The front and rear plates 20, 2l of the slider and its divider element,which latter may be comprised by divider half sections each integralwith a plate, or by a separate divider element extending between theplates, are shown to be secured by a securing rivet 25' extendingthrough the slider and which has a rivet headv 26 seating in a circularcountersunk recess 2l as formed in the outer faces of both front andrear plates.

Referring now to the construction and disposition of the slider pull tabwhich forms the subject-matter of the present invention, the improvedpull tab generally designated 3@ is of angled or L-shaped construction,having a laterally extending connector leg 3i and a vertically extendinggripping end or leg 32. Due to the lateral disposition of the connectorleg, the gripping end 32 whichis integral therewith is offset laterallyfrom the longitudinal center line of the fastener body. 'As shown, thegripping end of the tab is of length to extend below the bottom edge ofthe slider and being of appreciable width thereby provides a substantialgripping area. While in the illustrated construction, the gripping endis offset to the left of the slider center line for use with a righthanded concealed fastener in which the fly opens to the right, thegripping end may be oset to the right of the slider center line for usewith left handed concealed fasteners which open to the left.

Along the free or outer edge of the gripping end 32 and preferablyextending from the under face thereof is a longitudinally extending rib33 which interrupts the smooth under surface of the gripping end. Thus,the latter may be nrmly gripped, with the rib providing -assurance thatthe ngers of the operator will not slip in operating the slider. As willbe further evident from Figs. 1 and 3, the edge rib of the gripping endof the tab extends slightly to the side of the slider body whereby itsdisposition as aforesaid does not increase the overall depth of theslider and pull tab assembly.

The preferred form of securing the pull tab is illustrated in Fig. l,wherein the rivet head 2%,

I which, prior to the assembly of the slider and.

which is of solid construction, is pierced to provide a transverseopening for the reception of a tongue d adapted to form the pull tabpintle and which is blanked or cut out of the stock providing theconnector leg of ,the tab during the formation of the latter. The tongue35 is disposed above an opening '3d in the connector leg of the tab,which is of a size and shape to ac,- commodate the lower half of therivet head 2t. To the side of opening 36 and at right angles to thetongue 35 is disposed a second tongue al pull tab, may be bentrelatively forwardly from the plane of the pull tab proper. lInassembly, the tongue or pintle 3d is inserted into the rivet headopening, whereupon tongue 3l is bent baclr into its normal plane, thusto effect the closing of opening 36 and permanent securement of the pulltab to the rivet head.

According to a modified form of securing the pull tab to the rivet asillustrated in Fig. 5, the rivet head 26a is split and spread outwardly,as indicated in dotted lines, relatively above its head opening providedtherein for the reception of the pull tab pintle. The tab pintle 35a maybe formed solid above an opening corresponding to opening 36, with whichthe pull tab'is provided. Upon insertion of the pintle into the rivethead opening provided therefor, the split head is deformed or closed,thereby to close the head opening and securely fasten the pull tab tothe rivet head.

Without further analysis it Will be seen that the invention pro/vides animproved pull tab construction and one that is especially adapted foruse swith sliders of slide fastenersof the concealed type. By reason ofthe lateral disposition of the gripping end of the pull tab and its edgerib formation, the tab may be readily gripped without inserting thefingers deeply into the base of the ily pocket, or withouttherequirement for excessively raising the fly. Moreover, pull tabsconstructed in accordance with the invention permit the operation ofsliders with which they are associated by the exertion of a lateralcomponent of pull and are thus more readily operable than slidersrequiring a straight line pull -exerted through the slider body.

As many changes could be made in carrying out. the above constructions.without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended thatall matter contained in the above description, or shown in theaccompanying drawing, shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense. l v

I claim:

i. A slider for slide fasteners provided with an overlying ily forconcealing the fastener, comprising front and rear plates disposed inspaced.-

parallel relation, a rivet; extending through said plates, and a pulltab having a laterally extend ing portion pivotally connected to therivet head and a longitudinally extending grip portion nn set from thecenter line of the slider infthe direction ot the free edge of theconcealing ily.

2. A slider as set forth in claim 1 wherein the outer edge of the gripportion is provided with s rib to facilitate the gripping operation.

3. A slider as set forth in claim 1- wherein the outer edge of the gripportion is provided with a rearwardly directed gripping portion.-

4. A slider for -slide fasteners provided with an overlying ilyconcealing the fastener, com- 10 pricing front and reu' plates disposedin spaced plrallel relation, `a rivet extending through said plates. andan shaped pull tab. the laterally noms w. scHAm;

